Lotteries participate in the 2nd IOC international forum for sports integrity

The European Lotteries Association (EL) and the World Lottery Association (WLA), upon invitation of the IOC President, Thomas Bach, participated yesterday in the 2nd IOC International Forum for Sports Integrity (IFSI), organised in Lausanne. Lotteries joined a wide range of stakeholders from the sports movement, governments, the Council of Europe, the EU and the UN, who flocked to Lausanne on this occasion and had the chance to discuss issues related to match-fixing and good governance in sport.

Taking part in one of the panels, WLA President, Jean-Luc Moner-Banet expressed the Lotteries’ support to the IOC relevant actions and stated ”I would like to underline the importance and added value of the recently created Global Lottery Monitoring System (GLMS), which ensures monitoring of betting patterns 24/7, with active participation of lottery members from all over the world”. EL President, Hansjörg Höltkemeier, added, “Integrity has always been a core lottery value and has been enabling EL Members not only to set an example in terms of the responsibility of their sports betting operations, but also to fight against match-fixing with concrete actions, including education and capacity building of a wide range of stakeholders around Europe.”

Having been involved in the IFSI Expert Groups in November 2016, Lotteries have contributed to the preparation of the IFSI and the common declaration adopted yesterday. The common declaration announces further IOC actions and urges governments to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions. Abiding by all relevant provisions of the Convention, Lotteries have been actively promoting and supporting its implementation, as well as the setting up of national platforms, notably through their active participation in the Keep Crime out of Sport (KCOOS) project, led by the Council of Europe.